


anchor me back down

by Bontaque



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Anchors, College, Control Issues, Frottage, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-23
Updated: 2012-12-23
Packaged: 2017-11-22 03:37:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/605406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bontaque/pseuds/Bontaque
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One of many Christmas fics written for 2012.</p>
<p>After highschool, once Allison has moved on and the boys are in college, Scott is without and anchor. He finds one in Stiles, because he has always had Stiles and always will.</p>
            </blockquote>





	anchor me back down

By the time he gets to college, which is quite miraculous in itself, the wolf is just a part of Scott. He forgets what it was like before, how it felt to have an asthma attack or to have human level senses. So much changed after the bite, but it barely feels like it now. The drama has died down, Scott only sees the Hales around town and, generally, he has a normal life; as normal as his life could be with Stiles Stilinski as his best friend.

  
They help each other pack and Scott is convinced that they take longer than they ever would have alone. Stiles manages to get distracted by every little thing and Scott just... really doesn't want to pack. He's excited to go to college, to meet new people and get used to a new town, but the packing seems so final.

  
His mom and Stiles' dad act happy for them, but neither of the boys want to leave their parents alone.

  
“My mom told me to tell you not to worry,” Scott mutters, as he tapes up one of the boxes. “She'll make sure your dad eats well.”

  
Stiles smiles but Scott knows he'll still be phoning weekly to check. The two of them have their differences, in some ways they are polar opposites, but in others they might as well be the same person. One wolf, one human, but they both worry about their parents instinctively. One powerful, one wise, but they both have habits of falling for people that they ultimately cannot have.

 

-

That's the terrifying thing; college really _is_ going to be a clean break for both of them. Scott hasn't been with Allison for months, but he never really gave up hope on her. Stiles, on the other hand, never had a chance with Lydia, not with Jackson around, and Scott has always been convinced that he was only in love with the idea of her anyway. The two of them are going to be in different states from the girls, what with Allison moving to New York and Lydia going off somewhere to be brilliant (Scott is sure that Stiles knows where and what she will be studying, but he doesn't care enough to ask). College will be the nudge in the right direction that they both need.

  
Scott and Stiles are going to the same college. There was never any other plan. That was why Stiles had spent so many nights helping Scott to pass enough of his courses to get in. All they had had to do was find somewhere that offered Biochemistry for Stiles and Psychology for Scott. Since Derek had helped him to understand how to read people, he'd found how the human mind worked kind of interesting.

There were tears falling from both sides when their parents had waved them off. Scott and Stiles packed as many boxes as they could in the back of the Jeep and they gave their respective parents a final wave before setting off. The drive to SDU is far enough to make both of them fidgety, but its close enough that they can drive home at the weekends if, and when, they want to.  
The first week goes by like a flash. No classes, just orientation talks and fresher’s parties. Stiles comes home on the third night with a notebook full of the best places to eat and directions to all the important places, like the hospital. Scott comes home with an invitation to a party from a guy he met in the coffee shop.

  
It turns out that the party is pretty damn boring. Everyone is too caught up making new connections to let go too much, nobody wanting to make a bad impression so soon. There is a quiet guy in the corner who doesn't speak to anyone. He reminds Scott of Isaac, before the bite.

  
Scott and Stiles get home, with both agreeing that their first college party wasn't as fun as they had expected it to be.

  
Their apartment is a mess, with half unpacked boxes everywhere. It isn't a bad place, though. It's large enough, two bedrooms even though they had agreed to use bunk-beds if they didn't have enough money, decent furniture and a fridge that would make anyone jealous. Stiles pins a note to said fridge, with large black letters, and it takes Scott a while to realise that it’s the date of the next full moon.

  
He doesn't think much of it. The moon hasn't really been an issue, not since Scott learned to control himself.

 

"Do you want me to go out," Stiles asks the day before. "You know, so you can get some peace and quiet?"

Scott and Stiles rarely spend the full moon together. Stiles was never allowed round on school nights once Scott's grades started slipping and Scott prefers to be alone. Scott shakes his head, though, because he doesn't think Stiles should have to leave his own home just because Scott might be a little crabby. ask questions. He doesn't speak and bounce around. He turns off his Stiles mode. Scott stays still, pointedly so, whilst Stiles walks to the fridge, pulls out two cans of Mountain Dew and comes back to the couch. He opens Scott's for him, pops a straw in it and places it on the coffee table, so Scott doesn't even have to move.ghts, mainly because Stiles was never allowed around on a school night once Scott's grades started dropping. Scott shakes his head, because he doesn't think Stiles should have to leave his own apartment just because Scott might have trouble controlling himself.

-

The morning of the moon, Scott feels it immediately. Classes are in full swing and just sitting in the lecture hall is hard enough. He feels like he has to be somewhere, has to be doing something. His senses are heightened and he can't keep his feet still. He finds himself wondering if this is how Stiles feels when he doesn't take his medication.

  
Scott manages to push it down; counting in his head, breathing, lowering his heart rate. His class ends at four and he knows that he still has time before the moon rises. He reminds himself of that, telling himself how stupid it would be if he lost control for the first time in ages, when the moon wasn't even up.

  
Stiles had told him that it might happen, that the stress of moving and the unfamiliar environment might make it harder to cope. On the way back to the apartment, a guy bumps shoulders with him on the street and Scott knows it is probably accidental but his inner-wolf sees it as a challenge. It takes every ounce of self control to keep on walking.

  
It’s a relief when he sees the chipped paint and the cheap wood of his front door. He gets his key in the lock and slams the door behind him, breathing hard and purposefully. By the time Stiles gets home, its dark, and the moonlight is streaming through the kitchen window. Scott is curled up on the couch, trying to shut out the world.

  
“Man, are you okay?” Stiles asks as soon as he spots him. He drops down to a crouch to level with Scott. “You’re sweating like crazy.”

  
Scott nods, gritting his teeth and not speaking. He feels stupid. He feels like he should be able to handle the moon. He'd been fine before.

  
In that moment, though, he realises how much he really appreciates Stiles. He’s thankful that he has somebody who’d go through everything with him, and still make him smile the entire time. He doesn't bounce around and ask questions. He turns off his Stiles mode.

Scott stays still, pointedly so, whilst Stiles walks to the fridge, pulls out two cans of Mountain Dew and comes back to the couch. He opens Scott's for him, pops a straw in it and places it on the coffee table, so Scott doesn't even have to move.  

They spend the night watching SyFy movies and not speaking more than what’s necessary.

  
Scott wakes up the next morning feeling like he's been kicked in the head, but he no longer feels like he wants to kill someone. He pulls himself out of bed after ten minutes, tempted by the smell of cooking. He's pleasantly surprised to see Stiles in the kitchen, two frying pans in hand.

  
“You're cooking breakfast?” he asks, rubbing a hand through his nest of hair.

  
“Well, I wouldn't call it breakfast, it's past noon, but you want some?” Stiles asks. “I made enough.”

  
“Mmm, please.”

  
Scott sits down and smiles when Stiles hands him a plate of bacon and pancakes, but he doesn't hesitate in drowning it all in maple syrup. It warms his stomach and makes him feel so much better. By the time he's showered and dressed, he feels almost completely fine.

  
“I'm sorry about yesterday,” he says to Stiles. “It was harder than I thought it would be.”

  
Stiles shoots him a worried look for a second but then brightens up.

  
“It's cool. At least we have another month to prepare,” Stiles says.

  
There it is. The reason Stiles is brilliant. We have another month. Not you. They. They were in it together.

  
Scott pushes the issue to the back of his mind and it isn't until Stiles brings it up a week later that he thinks about it all.

  
“I've been doing some research,” he says over coffee and Scott is struck dumb.

  
They'd both been spending an embarrassing amount of time in the library. It turned out that college was hard. Who would have guessed?

  
“Okay?” he asks and Stiles rolls his eyes.

  
“About the moon, dumbass,” Stiles says.

  
Scott is a little surprised when Stiles tells him that he hasn't found anything, that the next full moon might just be the same. He isn't used to Stiles not knowing what to do.

  
“I'll keep looking, I promise.”

  
Scott comes home one day to find Stiles on the floor, back against the couch with books spread out around him. He had the phone pressed against his ear, but when he sees Scott, his expression changes.

  
“Uh, thanks, well I have to go now. Call me if anything changes?” he asks and then quickly hangs up.

  
“Who was that?” Scott asks.

  
“Your mom,” Stiles says and it could have been true if it wasn't for the skip in Stiles' heart beat.

  
“Stiles?” Scott asks, getting slightly worried.

  
Stiles lying to him makes him nervous because he should have no reason to.

  
“It was...” Stiles says slowly, as if he's trying to think of another lie before he realises that it would be useless. “Derek. I asked him about what happened on the full moon.”

  
Scott cringes at the thought of Derek knowing that he was having trouble controlling himself. It’s a pride thing.

  
“Stiles!” he whines, shoulders slumping dejectedly.

  
“It's not that big of a deal,” Stiles says. “He didn't laugh or anything. He said he was expecting it and he said he'd call me before the next one to go through an action plan.”

  
Scott is grateful. But he can't shake the feeling that Stiles is revealing his personal business.  
  
-

Scott is pleasantly surprised one morning to learn that his studying is paying off. For once, he's actually interested in his course material and it makes all the difference. When he brings home his first scored test, a large B emblazoned in the upper, right hand corner, Stiles insists on pinning it to the fridge, next to the date of the next full moon.

  
“Derek called,” Stiles tells him.

  
It is two days before the full moon and Scott is determined not to lose it again.

  
“Oh?” he asks. “Does he have any idea why it happened?”

  
Stiles nods.

  
“Well, yeah. We both do. That isn't really the issue. We've been trying to work out how to fix it."

  
Scott furrows his brow. They knew why it had happened? Why didn’t he? Why hadn't anyone told him?

  
“Well... why?” he asks. “Why was it harder?”

  
Stiles raises his eyebrows, as if the answer should be obvious.

  
“Scott, how did you calm yourself down before?” Stiles asks.

  
At first Scott doesn't answer, because coping with his wolf had become second nature. He thought back to when he had first leaned. An anchor.

  
“I... learned to focus on something else,” he begins. “I had to find an anchor... Allison...”

  
Even when they weren't together, even when Scott knew that they were never going to get back together, memories of him and Allison together had always been able to calm him. When that wasn't enough, he could search out her heartbeat, no matter where she was.

  
He had always wondered if there was a limit to how far away she could be, if he would be able to find her amongst everyone else's beating hearts. It turns out that New York is too far away.

  
“You're moving on,” Stiles says. “Allison won’t work anymore. You need to find something new to focus on.”

  
Scott expects to feel sad, knowing that his time with Allison, the first girl he ever loved is over. Completely and utterly over. But he isn't sad. It's like he had always known and had only just realised.

  
“So... I need a new anchor?” Scott asks, because he isn't sure where he's supposed to find one of those.

  
Stiles nods. Scott remembers when Derek explained it to him. Anchors are different for everyone. Derek uses anger, the anger that reminds him of his family and keeps him human.

-

  
The second full moon isn't as bad, Scott thinks. He makes it through his class without any mishaps and it isn't until he walks home that anything happens. A girl is running across the courtyard and he tries to dodge her, but they collide. Hot coffee seeps onto his chest, burning and shocking him hard enough to throw him off.

  
The girl apologises but he doesn't hear it. He has to get home. He feels his claws spring out and she's still apologising but Scott just shakes it off.

  
“It's fine. Fine,” he says, voice barely forming words.

  
He doesn't notice anyone as he walks as quickly as he can without drawing attention to himself. Stiles is home by the time Scott gets there.

  
“I thought you were going to study in the library?” Scott asks.

  
“I don't know, I can still go, but I thought you might need someone,” Stiles says. “What happened to your shirt?”

  
Scott feels his heart rate pick up at the thought of explaining it all. He just shakes his head and Stiles doesn't push the subject. The coffee no longer burns; it has cooled and Scott’s skin has healed, but the bitter smell of it on his shirt is assaulting his senses. Stiles stands up and walks towards him, pulling Scott's shirt off over his head.

“You bought coffee?” he asks, throwing the shirt aside. Scott shakes his head again. “Someone else's?”

  
“Mmm...” Scott mumbles, letting Stiles lead him over to the couch.

  
He's grateful that Stiles is taking care of him. It takes the pressure off; he can retreat into his head instead of having to think about what to do. He just doesn't want to feel weak.

  
“I'm okay,” he says, but his voice is still rough.

  
Stiles looks a little concerned. It isn't long until the sun goes down and Scott can already feel the pull of the moon.

  
He wants to curl up and just wake up tomorrow, when he doesn't feel like crawling out of his own skin.

  
“Just focus,” Stiles says and his voice sounds so far away. “What was it about Allison that helped you?”

  
Scott takes a while to answer, because he doesn't want to, but he knows that Stiles is just trying to help him.

  
“I... I would find her heartbeat,” he says, quietly. “I could find it anywhere.”

  
Stiles’ eyes glaze over thoughtfully for a second.

  
“Okay, well just focus on mine for now,” he says simply.

  
Scott frowns and takes a deep breath. It isn't the same when Stiles is sitting right there. He doesn't have to focus, he can already hear it, faster than it should be. He listens anyway, focusing on the rhythm, the thump thump thump that he is so accustomed to. He knows that he could find Stiles, just like he could find Allison. He's always had Stiles, they've been friends for as long as it has mattered

Stiles is the only person apart from his mother that he would trust with his life.

  
“The anchor thing... it's about what makes you human, isn't it?” Stiles asks.

  
Scott nods. That was what he'd been told.

  
“So what makes you human?” Stiles asks. “You were human before Allison. You should be able to do this without her.”

  
It’s true. Scott thinks back to what he did before Allison, to what he did before the bite. He thinks of his mother, he thinks of Stiles and asthma attacks and sucking at lacrosse. He remembers the long summers he spent lazing in the sun or shut indoors playing video games with Stiles. He feels himself smile when he remembers when Stiles climbed through his bedroom window for the first time and got his jeans caught on the catch.

  
The pull of the moon, the rage he had felt rising inside him like a tide, it stills.

  
“I don't know. I... just messing around with you?” Scott asks.

  
He sees Stiles smile.s “You remember that time you got caught sneaking out of your house to go to Lydia's party?” Scott asks.

  
Stiles winces. It had been a bad time for the both of them. Stiles had been caught with alcohol and Scott had tried to cover for him. They had both been grounded for a month, but they had found a way around it.

  
“The CB radios, god, that was a weird summer,” Stiles says, sighing contentedly.

  
They had spent the month making up codes over the radios and it had been much more fun than it should have been.

By the time the moon rises fully, Stiles and Scott are revelling in nostalgia, swapping memories and laughing at everything that they had done. Scott doesn't even realise how the time has passed until he looks at the clock. He feels a little strung out, but better than before.

  
“Dude, I think you're my anchor,” he jokes.

  
It makes sense, though. Allison had worked because she was so familiar. She was something he loved, someone he knew so well that he could find her in a crowd. Someone that made him smile effortlessly. Stiles is all of those things.

  
After a while they stop talking and just sit. Scott is a little cold, his chest still bare from when Stiles stripped him of his shirt but he is content. Stiles' heartbeat is slower now, a gentle ‘badumbadum-thump’ in the dark of the apartment and he can almost feel it, they're so close.

  
“Cool...” Stiles says sleepily.

  
It's late and they both have class tomorrow, but the thought of going to his cold bed alone, and losing the proximity of the metronome that is Stiles' heart, makes Scott's stomach flip. He won’t sleep, not now, and he needs to.

  
“Sleep with me?” he asks and Stiles peers up at him, eyes squinting in confusion.

  
“What?”

  
“Just... come sleep in my bed?” Scott clarifies. “I'm tired and your pulse is helping.”

  
So Stiles does. He walks slowly, feet padding the floor to Scott's bedroom. They sleep in their underwear, crawling under the covers together and it's normal.

  
It should be normal. They've slept together before, many times. They've camped, they've had sleepovers and fallen asleep together on the couch.

  
But as Stiles drifts off into a deep sleep, his chest rising and falling in a gentle rhythm, Scott feels something. His scent is warm and it reminds Scott of the forest, of home, of everything good and it is as if his wolf has recognised Stiles as his anchor.

  
The next morning, Scott wakes up with Stiles' arm draped over him, weighing down on him. When he tries to sit up, Stiles just cuddles closer, moving in his sleep and it alerts Scott to a more pressing issue. Stiles is hard.

  
He knows it is nothing out of the ordinary. Nine mornings out of ten, Scott wakes up with at least some activity there but it makes his mouth go dry. He can smell pre-come that smells distinctly different from his own.

  
He tries to pull himself out of Stiles' grasp, ignoring how his cock twitches when Stiles' groans softly in his sleep. Instead of letting him slip away, Stiles' arms tighten around him, pulling him in closer. Scott squeezes his eyes shut, trying not to think about the way that Stiles' cock is rubbing against him. It's impossible to ignore when Stiles groans in his sleep, though.

  
Scott takes a deep breath, inhaling slowly through his nose but that just draws in Stiles' scent, mild and warm, familiar and way too attractive to his inner-wolf. Scott's cock twitches when Stiles moves, his head shifting onto his shoulder, hot breath ghosting over Scott's bare skin.

  
“Fuck...” Scott sighs.

  
Stiles' hips twitch and then he's rutting against Scott's stomach, underwear bunching up around his erection. Scott doesn't know what to do. If he wakes Stiles up, it is going to be embarrassing for the both of them. If he lets him continue, though, it'll be worse.

  
He lets Stiles thrust against him a few more times, giving him delicious friction before acting.

  
“Stiles...” Scott says and his voice comes out rougher than he expects. “Stiles, wake up...”

  
Stiles stirs, but he doesn't wake up. Scott repeats himself, shaking Stiles slightly. It takes a while to rouse him and a little while longer for Stiles to realise what is happening.

  
Scott can feel the sticky spot of pre-come against his skin and Stiles blushes bright red, moving away from him quickly.

  
“I, uh... I was asleep,” Stiles says. “I'm... sorry.”

  
Scott swallows because Stiles' voice trails off as his eyes move down, focusing on the way Scott's cock is jutting up, poking out over the waistband of his underwear.

  
“Yeah,” Scott breathes. “I... the friction, you know?”

  
He motions to his cock and Stiles grins nervously, blushing even redder. The two of them look at each other for a second or two, the tension thick between them. Scott can't help the way he wants to reach out and touch, to feel Stiles' warmth against him again.

  
“Was I...” Stiles begins, “Wow, was I like humping your leg or something?” he asks with a laugh. “Isn't that more your style?”

  
The joke comes out a little forced and Stiles is obviously unsure of what he is supposed to do. Scott laughs and nods.

  
“It's fine,” he says. “It was... you... I didn't mind.”

  
It comes out strange and not at all how he meant it. He wanted to reassure Stiles that he wasn't mad at him, but instead it made him sound like he had been enjoying himself, which wasn't far from the truth. Stiles' eyebrows shoot up in surprise, but he doesn't say anything. He just looks at Scott, like he's trying to figure out something. They're kissing before Scott knows what is happening.

  
The heat of Stiles' body is intense, with his scent surrounding him and Scott doesn't understand why they've never done this before. He's always had Stiles, but never like this. He’s never had Stiles gasping and moaning for him. Stiles' face is pressed into his chest, because eye contact is just too awkward, and Scott can feel his breath shudder with each groan. He reaches down, slipping his fingers under the waistband of Stiles' underwear and pulls, rolling the fabric down over his hips and freeing his cock. Stiles practically keens when Scott wraps his fingers around his cock, stroking him slowly.

  
Scott pulls his own underwear down, gasping at the heat he feels when he presses his cock against Stiles', wrapping his fist around them both and thrusting.

  
“Oh, my... god!” Stiles groans.

  
Scott feels pre-come pool between their cocks, slicking the way for another thrust when Stiles' cock twitches. He has to stop himself from lurching forward, from sinking his claws into Stiles' sides. That's what his wolf wants. He wants to claim Stiles, his anchor, but Scott shakes it off. He doesn't need that.

  
Stiles' hips start thrusting, his cock moving in tandem with Scott's. Stiles' breath stutters as a flush spreads down his neck, his heart beating rabbit-fast through his chest. Scott can smell the arousal, he can feel Stiles' pulse against him.

  
“Ugh... more...” Stiles groans and Scott almost loses it.

  
There's desperation to his voice and his body is moving hard and fast, hips jolting forwards. Scott squeezes his fist tighter, licking his lips at the drop of pre-come that rolls down Stiles' shaft. Stiles looks up at him, eyes focusing on his lips as Scott drags his tongue over them. He kisses him, frantic and hungry, like it is everything he needs and Scott leans into the kiss.

  
He's so close and he can tell Stiles is too. They both move with each other, bodies pressing together and when Stiles comes, spurting into Scott's hand, he feels Stiles’ cock pulsing against his own. It's just enough to push him over the edge, the hot come making his fist slide perfectly and then he's doing the same.

They pull apart, not wanting to look at each other, in case either of them regret what just happened. Stiles breaks, and Scott is thankful for that.

  
“So, you want breakfast?” he asks.

  
Scott had expected something a little more relevant, but if Stiles isn't going to talk about it, he doesn't mind.

  
They both shower after eating. Scott tries not to think about what happened. It doesn't seem to have hurt their friendship, not at all, but Scott doesn't want to get his hopes up that it'll happen again.

  
When he walks back into his bedroom, towel wrapped around his waist, he thinks Stiles has already left for college until he sees him sitting on his bed.

  
“You're gonna want to change these sheets,” he says.

  
“Uh... yeah,” Scott says.

  
He wants to say something, but he doesn't know what. Stiles smiles meekly, an expression that Scott isn't used to seeing on his friend.

  
They don't talk about it again, not until they go to a party two weeks later. Scott is starting to think that they'll never talk about it, that the memory will fade for the both of them.

  
When Stiles pulls him into a room off of a hallway, smelling of beer and whiskey, Scott wonders if it is time to take him home.

  
“Scott,” Stiles slurs, “Are we gonna talk..? About that time we... you know...”

  
Stiles pushes him against the wall. Scott could easily overpower him, but he doesn't want to. He lets Stiles kiss him sloppily, tasting the alcohol on his lips. He lets him because it's what he wants.

  
Stiles is his anchor, both different and similar to Allison. Scott has always had Stiles.


End file.
